Vice President JD Vance arrived in Switzerland early Sunday to join White House envoys for a critical new round of negotiations with Iran following the Trump administration’s recent 60-day ceasefire agreement.
Vance touched down shortly before 6 a.m. local time and is meeting with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in Bürgenstock, where the talks are underway.
Swiss officials confirmed Saturday that Iran’s delegation had arrived. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is participating in the discussions, according to Axios.
“I think we’re hopefully making progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue.”
The negotiations come days after President Trump signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran at the G7 summit in Versailles. The framework established a 60-day ceasefire and outlined broader talks aimed at ending the conflict.
Trump warned Saturday in a Truth Social post that the United States could impose tolls in the Strait of Hormuz if the talks fail to produce a lasting agreement before the ceasefire expires.
Before departing Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Vance told reporters the goal is establishing the structure for future negotiations.
“The way that we’re going to do this, we’re going to have a principal level of political leadership at the top,” he said. “And then obviously the technical team is going to stay on the ground.”
Vance said he expected to remain in Switzerland for one or two days.
The vice president previewed the agenda: nuclear weapons and the Lebanon ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
“Those are the two big things that I think we’re going to be focused on. I’m sure the Iranians are going to have issues they’d like to discuss as well.”
Despite renewed clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, Vance said conditions in Lebanon had improved.
“Despite the headlines, things are actually getting better there,” he said, while acknowledging sporadic violence remains a challenge.
The talks were originally scheduled for Friday but were postponed by Switzerland’s foreign ministry. The planned discussions also involve Qatar and Pakistan.
Pakistan announced that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir would participate in technical-level discussions.
Vance said the immediate priority is preventing escalation and preserving the ceasefire framework.
“The big problem is that somebody will shoot and then somebody will respond,” he said. “You’ve just got to stop the shooting for long enough to get the ceasefire to hold.”
